60% of global suicides in Asia Pacific
Economic problems and social humiliations are the main causes in countries governed by rigid social norms. Youth and middle-aged men are the most vulnerable, especially times of economic recession.
Singapore (AsiaNews/Agencies) Sixty per cent of all suicides in the world take place in the Asia-Pacific region. This was revealed by a researcher from New Zealand. Increased stress, economic recession and rigid social norms accounted for the high number of suicides in Asian countries, Annette Beautris of the Canterbury Suicide Project, said on 10 March. In the last decade, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong have seen an increase in cases.
The overall percentage of suicides in Asia corresponds with the distribution of the global population, but rates vary greatly from state to state. In Japan, according to the World Health Organisation, there are 25.3 suicides per 100,000 people, 30.7 in Sri Lanka, 13.9 in China, 7.9 in Thailand and 10.7 in India. Meanwhile, there are 10.85 cases per 100,000 people in the United States, 6.95 in the UK, 12.7 in Australia and 13.7 in Germany.
Beautris told a press conference in Singapore: "In the Asia Pacific area, suicide attempts tended to decrease with the increase of economic advantages, like in China, and increased with economic recession, like in Hong Kong and Japan. In India, the drop in subsidies for farmers "led to an increase in suicides among males in rural areas".
Seventy per cent of people who committed suicide in Japan were middle-aged males, the sector of society most vulnerable to losing their jobs during the economic slump. The scholar added: "In the Asia-Pacific region, losing one's job is seen as a source of shame and humiliation by males in particular, and this leads them to make suicide attempts."
In China and Hong Kong, suicide is the leading cause of death among youth aged between 15 and 35 years, who are worried about "exam failure and incredible pressure to achieve well at school or at university". Chia Boon Hock, a leading suicide expert in Singapore, said stress over studies accounted for 27% of all suicides among young people.
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